The present invention relates in particular to a laterally stabilized billiard cue tip. However, in the largest sense, the game of billiards in all its variations, i.e., billiards, pool, snooker and the like; may be seen as a sub-part of a larger set of sports in which a striking implement is used to direct a ball on a predetermined course. While the skill of the player may be prominent, it is obvious that the nature of the striking implement will have a large effect on the results produced. According, although “billiard cue tip” and various variants are used to describe the invention in the specification and claims herein, the invention is meant to include any sports instrument used for striking an object ball.
In billiards, and as may be seen in the prior art illustration shown as FIG. 1, a billiard cue stick, also sometimes known as a “cue,” “stick” “cue stick,” and the like is used to strike a first object (“cue”) ball, with the force of impact driving the cue ball into a second object ball. The most common billiard cue or sue stick in common use today includes a long, usually wooden shaft (S) tipped with a tip (T). The tip is most commonly made of leather, either a single piece or a composite of multiple layers, but other materials, especially phenolic may be used. Sometimes a ferrule (F) may be placed at the distal end of the billiard cue, often made of metal, serving both a decorative function and helping reinforce the wooden shaft against the sudden impacts produced by the tip striking a ball.
Since the tip is that part of the stick which strikes the cue ball, both the hardness and surface characteristics of the tip are critical, as would be known to one skilled in the art. Tips vary greatly in hardness, including some leather tips, being relatively hard. Other tips are known to be softer. By way of reference, most commonly used billiard cue tips on the market today will display a hardness of 66-96 on the 0-100 (100 being maximum hardness) Shore hardness scale as measured on a standard Shore D Durometer with 1 kilogram of pressure. Players generally believe that a hard tip will impart more force to the struck object ball than a softer tip.
Contemplation of the force vectors involved in the impact of a cue tip on an object ball will reveal that when an axial force is created by striking the object ball with the cue stick, the largest energy vector will be in the axial dimension of the stick. However, there will also be a force vector, due to partial absorption of the force by the material of the tip, oriented sideways, or approximately 90 degree relative to the tip and stick axis. This lateral vector a) results in less force being transmitted to the object ball, and b) in time, sometimes a relatively short time, causing a “mushroom” and deformation of the tip itself. Obviously, these problems are more pronounced the softer the tip material.
Many players generally believe that soft tips will absorb more impact causing the tip to stay on the cue ball for a fraction of a second longer than harder tips. This is believed to result in more cue ball spin, commonly referred to as “English”, when the cue ball is struck slightly off center. Softer tips, as would be expected, suffer more from impact and will tend to get misshaped faster and require more maintenance to keep a rounded shape and to fix any mushrooming when the tip bulges out over the side of the ferrule. Because of the additional maintenance, softer tips end up needing to be replaced more frequently.
Hard tips are generally thought not to absorb much force or stay on the cue ball as much at impact as a softer tip would. Because of this, hard tips create less spin and are more liable to slip or miscue when striking the cue ball farther off the center point. However, hard tips will play more consistently, last longer and require less maintenance. Thus, until now, a player has faced a difficult decision in deciding to play a softer versus a harder tipped cue.
Therefore, an improved billiard cue tip would combine the best features of both soft and hard tips, a problem addressed successfully by the instant invention.